Arcadelt, Jacob or Jacques

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Arcadelt, Jacob or Jacques

Arcadelt, Jacob or Jacques, significant Flemish or French composer; b. probably in Liège, c. 1505; d. Paris, Oct. 14, 1568. He was in the papal service from 1540 to 1551, and also was in the service of the Duc de Guise in France until about 1562. Many of his works were publ. in his lifetime, bringing him wide recognition in Italy and France. He was especially known for his secular vocal music, his 200 madrigals being particularly important in the development of that genre. He also wrote 126 chansons, 3 masses, 24 motets, and Lamentations. A. Seay ed. his complete works in Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, XXXI/1–10 (1965–71).

Bibliography

W. Klefisch, A. als Madrigalist (diss., Univ. of Cologne, 1938); E. Helm, The Beginnings of the Italian Madrigal and the Works of A. (diss., Harvard Univ., 1939).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire